Dog bitten by rabid skunk

Attack happened near Beltzville State Park in Carbon County.

October 04, 2002|By Terry Ahner Special to The Morning Call - Freelance

A rabid skunk attacked and bit a dog Tuesday morning near Beltzville State Park in Towamensing Township in what is either the first case or third case of the virus in Carbon County this year.

Bruce May, animal warden at the county Animal Shelter, said the skunk was shot by the dog's owner, a taxidermist, along Deer Lane.

May said the owner reported the case to the state Game Commission, cut the skunk's head off, packed it and shipped it to be tested. The test came back positive.

The dog was taken for a shot and will be quarantined for 90 days.

May said the incident should serve as a reminder for pet owners to have their animals vaccinated.

"When something like this happens, it's important to spread the word so that people out in that area who have an animal but haven't had it vaccinated should do so," May said. "I know a lot of people have a lot of cats and dogs in that area."

May said the county was aware of no other cases of rabies this year, but Richard McGarvey, a state Health Department spokesman, said it is the third this year in Carbon.

McGarvey said a bat and a raccoon also were found to be carrying the virus in Carbon, but he did not have details on where or when.

"Fortunately for this case, we don't have a human exposure," McGarvey said. He said 379 cases of animal rabies have been reported in Pennsylvania this year.

He said that figure compares with previous years. There were 438 cases of animal rabies reported throughout Pennsylvania in 2001, up from 415 confirmed cases in 2000.

"There are usually around 400 cases in Pennsylvania per year," McGarvey said. "That's been the standard for the last six years."

The most cases of animal rabies reported in Pennsylvania occurred in 1989, when 711 were reported.

Schuylkill County had the state's first case of the year in January when a skunk attacked a dog in Tamaqua's north end. The skunk and the injured dog, a family pet, were destroyed.

McGarvey said raccoons accounted for more than half of those cases, followed by skunks, foxes and cats. He said bats and, in rare instances, dogs, also carry the virus.

The last human fatality attributed to the disease was in Lycoming County in 1984, McGarvey said.

Rabies attacks the central nervous system. Humans can get the virus through contact with the saliva of an infected animal or person.

Whenever a person has contact with an unvaccinated animal, he or she must rule out rabies by having the animal destroyed and tested or by undergoing treatment within 10 days.

"This really is important so that people who own cats and dogs have them vaccinated, because if they get bit by an animal carrying the disease, they won't bring the rabies virus into the home," McGarvey said.

"Leave wildlife in the wild. If you see one of these animals in your yard, assume something is wrong with it and stay away."